Morning Sigs, apologies on the late reply as been a little off colour the last couple of days.
With regards to the coincidence mentioned, unless it was a 20yr+ long term plan I'd say the two are unrelated except for partial name similarity only.
One registered in 2001 the other circa 2003.. Tri-Star resources as we know is associated with SPMP the antimony roaster based in Oman which is one of two smelters vying for the offtake. The other being a Chinese Smelter (Refer Pro-active investors podcast)
Good podcast actually In which Brian quite clearly lays out the near term plan, the potential offtake partners (3 of), their want to pre-pay in order to part fund development, the benefit of improved antimony metrics from metwork, timelines for all this (Apr-May funding in place) and the proposed drilling program of 7000m Oxide and 15000m Porphyry.
This from the company itself so anything else that people want to push is an agenda IMO. Now back to Tri-Star, they seem a small company so how could they have built a % stake in a $160m dollar plus smelter in Oman?
I would be a curiosity were it not for the appt of a certain director back in 21. How long the company have had backing is anyones guess but they got the swingers and ergo if it is a case of either SPMP or the Chinese are to front for the Antimony Silver concentrate then both have access to the cash backing to make it work IMO.
Make no mistake, the near surface gold & copper, coupled with Zinc and the potential for a huge Porphyry deposit make for compelling SP appreciation in the future. But the thing that kicks this all off and is in demand right now from a number of sectors is the Antimony..
China wants it and the US currently doesn't have it, which puts a near term producer seeking funding in 2023 in really a nice sweet spot.. IMO
GLTAH... H8tey
"Today, the U.S. finds itself once again wholly reliant on other countries for its antimony needs, most heavily China and to a lesser extent, Russia"
Tri-Star has a % stake in SPMP & Odey has a 65% stake in Tri-Star - So Money aint a problem
Today, the U.S. finds itself once again wholly reliant on other countries for its antimony needs, most heavily China and to a lesser extent, Russia. As Christopher Ecclestone, Mining Strategist at London-based Hallgarten & Company, said during a webinar this week, as recently as a few years ago, China produced as much as 80% of the world’s supply of antimony. But years of over-production of its key mines, along with lingering low commodity prices have reduced China’s share of global production to 53%. However, several large producing nations ship their supplies to China for processing, meaning that the communist empire still processes 80% of global supply, and thus commands its ultimate supply chain. Ecclestone said he believes Chinese supply is in rapid decline, and that the Chinese government is currently rationing its own production. This helps to explain a recent spike in the price for the metal, which has doubled over the last 6 months.
Worse, Ecclestone believes that global demand for antimony in the coming years “cannot be met from current supplies.” If true, this will impact all of us in a variety of ways, because antimony is a crucial element in far more than just military applications.For example, consider its usage in the high-tech sector, where it is a key ingredient in semi-conductors, circuit boards, electric switches, fluorescent lighting, high quality clear glass and lithium-ion batteries. No antimony, no iPhones. No hi-definition TVs. No modern kitchen appliances, all of which make use of digital circuitry. Oh, and that car you’re thinking about buying? Sorry.
Now, consider this: There can be no “energy transition” without adequate supplies of antimony. That thick, heavy glass used in solar panels? It’s made with antimony. Those 300 to 700 foot-tall windmills that sporadically produce electricity? Made with antimony. Antimony is a key element in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries, as mentioned above, but even more crucial is the fact that it is integral to the development of the next-generation liquid metal batteries that, as Ecclestone pointed out during the webinar, hold the key to truly scalable energy storage for wind and solar power.
In 1977, then-President Jimmy Carter declared the fact that the United States was 33% dependent on imports of foreign oil to meet its needs to be a national emergency. In light of that, it seems almost unbelievable that this country has allowed itself to become almost 100% dependent on imports of a metal integral to so many applications as antimony. Of course, the U.S. is also in a similar situation related to better-known critical minerals like lithium and cobalt, which are also key to the production of solar panels, wind turbines and lithium-ion batteries.
Given all the ongoing hype about renewable energy, electric vehicles and the seeming urgency around moving to them in the coming few decades, this seems a very odd way to manage such a massive envisioned “energy transition.” If that goal is to ever truly become reality in the U.S., the country must find a way to secure adequate supplies of these minerals by exploiting its own domestic reserves of them. Where antimony is concerned, Perpetua Resources at least has a plan to make a good start.
The US are at least 2 years away from construction and 4-5 years away from commercialisation of their only in Country Antimony resource.. Even then they only expect to cover 35% of the 2021 average demand for the mineral.
(20min delay)